Chapter 235

Liu Tianxian and Song Chengxian's photo was posted by Song Chengxian on his SNS social media platform.

With the caption: "Liu Tianxian is so beautiful in this role!"

After this image and caption were posted, South Korean netizens became wildly active, all saying the two were a perfect match and overwhelmingly supporting Song Chengxian in pursuing Liu Tianxian.

It was simply because South Korean netizens held Liu Tianxian in extremely high regard, even calling her the new-era "Wang Zuxian!" and ranking her first in search popularity on AVER, surpassing all other South Korean celebrities at the time.

Just imagining marrying such a Liu Tianxian into their own country filled them with pride and overwhelming self-satisfaction. Sitting in front of his screen, Song Chengxian saw the rising online buzz and couldn't help but smile.

Looking again at Liu Tianxian's beautiful face and elegant posture, his obsession deepened further.

The year before, when he attended an event in Shanghai, he had been captivated by her demeanor and speech the moment he saw her.

It was love at first sight, but Liu Tianxian, except when smiling for the camera, treated him indifferently, coldly distant.

When Liu Tianxian heard from her Assistant that Song Chengxian had uploaded their photo online, she made no response and paid no attention.

Clearly, Song Chengxian was just riding the trend—this was a common practice in the entertainment circle! She had no interest in him at all; she had merely taken the photo out of politeness, and now she was swamped with work and had already left South Korea.

She was heading to Baodao, then Hong Kong, then Southeast Asia, making a full circuit around the mainland—though only visiting major cities, not remote ones.

Expenses were covered by local production companies; security was handled by Yindu Institution.

Now, "Super Body 1" was also wildly popular in Southeast Asia; a Malaysian netizen named king, Trioplex, posted three photos on his social media.

The three photos showed a movie theater packed to capacity with audiences.

With the caption: #SuperBody1 nearly sold out at 9:15 PM!

These photos proved the immense popularity of "Super Body 1" in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia's total population is only 33.93 million, yet "Super Body 1" alone drew over 250,000 people into theaters—nearly the entire nation had become movie fans.

Southeast Asian netizens all gave it rave reviews, yet their profile pictures were mostly female viewers.

Malaysia's largest newspaper, Sin Chew Daily, published that "Super Body 1" shattered records on its opening day, earning over 4 million ringgit, becoming the highest opening-day box office in Malaysian history.

Outside Malaysia, cinema occupancy rates in Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand reached an unbelievable 80%.

In three days, "Super Body 1" earned 902,000 in Malaysia; 610,000 in Singapore; 496,000 in the Philippines; 444,000 in Thailand; 466,000 in Indonesia; plus over 3.5 million in other regions, plus 506,000 in Hong Kong and 2.27 million in Baodao.

The total box office reached 6.276 million—equivalent to just one South Korean market. There was nothing to be done; small countries were like this.

All figures above are in US dollars!

"Painted Skin 2" was also screened in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian regions, but its box office didn't even reach a fraction of "Super Body 1's."

It was completely crushed, producing not even a ripple! Liu Tianxian stayed at most one day per Southeast Asian location, sometimes only half a day or a few hours.

There were interviews and fan meetings; journalists were pre-briefed and never asked sensitive political questions.

When questioned, she always represented China—Liu Tianxian was very clear on this point.

These small markets didn't warrant long stays—it didn't match her current status. Letting them glimpse the goddess's beauty was enough.

Saying a few words to them was a favor.

With the overseas explosion of "Super Body 1" and Liu Tianxian, Chinese tourism also surged.

According to tourism department data, the number of Southeast Asians traveling to China rose by 13%.

This was the star effect! Sales of brands endorsed by Liu Tianxian also rose by 32%, further boosting her commercial value.

Many brands now saw her commercial potential and began approaching her team for business collaborations.

Liu Xiaoli was extremely busy!

In contrast to the explosive popularity in South Korea and Southeast Asia, "Super Body 1" presented a completely different scene domestically.

Just after its release, countless Water Armies began attacking Liu Tianxian.

"The pinnacle of expressionless acting!"

The core criticism was this: her acting was so terrible it enraged gods and men, unbearable to watch.

Audiences didn't know how to judge acting, but since "everyone" said Liu Tianxian's acting was bad, they simply accepted it as true, lacking any ability to discern.

Acting is sometimes a matter of personal opinion.

"Buy two tickets for 'Super Body 1.'"

At Wanda Cinema, a young couple noticed few people in line and stepped forward to pay with a fifty-yuan note.

Most people had already bought tickets online!

"Sorry, fifty yuan only buys one ticket," said the ticket clerk.

"But isn't it 19.9 yuan online?" the man asked.

"That's only for online purchases—you can also buy tickets online," the clerk said, gesturing toward a vacant display of the "Super Body 1" lightbox poster.

It displayed a download link and QR code, and tickets could also be purchased via app platforms.

The couple looked, and the man pulled out another fifty: "Give me two tickets."

"Why not buy online?" his girlfriend asked.

"No data, data's expensive," the man whispered.

In this era, data was indeed expensive—not everywhere had unlimited internet—but many still bought tickets at home and picked them up at the cinema.

Others roamed around seeking free Wi-Fi to buy tickets.

These past few days, "Super Body 1's" capital strategy, with its inherent advantages, had completely dominated "Painted Skin 2."

On its opening day, "Super Body 1" drew 1.32 million viewers and earned 58.4 million yuan in box office, including 17.52 million in ticket subsidies—that is, it spent that much in just one day.

Some viewers bought tickets offline and did not receive subsidies from the Tu Piaopiao platform.

This eased some pressure on Tu Piaopiao.

With "Super Body 1" drawing 1.32 million viewers, "Painted Skin 2" saw a corresponding drop in attendance, as audiences were drawn away; "Painted Skin 2" opened with 860,000 viewers and 34.4 million yuan in box office.

Together, the two films surpassed 2.18 million viewers in one day, breaking the record for highest single-day domestic audience count for a Chinese film.

Two point one eight million viewers in one day, earning over eighty million yuan—that was unimaginable in the past.

Ticket subsidies certainly attracted many who had never paid to watch movies before, and those unaccustomed to going to theaters.

But "Super Body 1" had little early propaganda, low name recognition, and was constantly attacked—otherwise its box office would have been even higher.

The number of viewers on the second day was about the same as the first day, and so was the box office.

On the third day, public opinion suddenly shifted—the wave of "Super Body 1"'s overseas explosion blew back into China.

"Super Body 1 is raking in money like crazy! Southeast Asia ignites a movie-going frenzy, box office surges!"

"China's sci-fi action film Super Body 1 tops the South Korea box office chart."

"Super Body 1 is killing it in Southeast Asia!"

"South Korean media calls: Unshakable box office champion Super Body 1,"

"Super Body 1 explodes in Southeast Asia! In three days, it becomes the all-time box office champion; tickets are impossible to get."

"Can act! Can fight! Cures all skepticism!"

"."

Domestic media also blew up "Super Body 1," because anything foreign media praises about China, they must praise too—it's the right thing to do.

The top leadership supported this too: ticket subsidies cultivated audience viewing habits, and the overseas explosion hit the Film Bureau's sweet spot.

One could say Fang Hong, though working for Huayi, also made his superiors very comfortable.

On the third day, word-of-mouth spread, and more people learned about the ticket subsidies—this day, Super Body 1's viewership exceeded 2.53 million, with box office surpassing 102 million.

It once again broke viewing records and the single-day box office record; media lavished praise.

"Super Body 1 breaks 200 million in three days, tops China's box office chart!"

"Super Body 1 breaks multiple domestic film records: champion in single-day viewership, single-day box office, and summer season box office."

"."

Media praised it to the skies, but all of this was built on real money from ticket subsidies—in three days, Tu Piao Piao lost over 60 million.

But luckily, Tu Piao Piao can absorb it!

They only spent over 60 million because many people still aren't used to online ticket purchases or smartphones, finding them troublesome.

Also, data charges are too high! In contrast, Painted Skin 2 barely passed 80 million in three days—only because on the third day, viewership was crushed, with fewer than 400,000 people watching Painted Skin 2.

Total viewership barely exceeded 2 million.

The opponent passed 5 million—less than half of the opponent's total.

Once box office numbers came out, more people went to watch, and word-of-mouth emerged.

Online, Liu Tianxian's emotionless acting had been praised for days as peak perfection, but some viewers thought it was just okay.

A netizen named "Read More Often" commented: "From a naive, dumb bunny to later a commanding, fierce presence, Liu Tianxian's transformation is a bit stiff, but she doesn't break immersion."

"Super Body 1 is genuinely satisfying—the entire film unfolds under the female lead's calculations, intelligence stays sharp throughout, she takes the serum and instantly turns the tables; infinitely better than Painted Skin 2's incoherent nonsense. I don't get what there is to hate."

"Sis, kill me!"

"Liu Tianxian should play movies like this—she naturally radiates dominance!"

"."

Netizens' word-of-mouth began to reverse, because audiences' direct experience is the most authentic.

Their words are most trustworthy—some media speak for correctness, others for money.

Netizens' voices are still too weak—Super Body 1's reputation remains blackened, and Painted Skin 2's reputation isn't much better either.

"First, Painted Skin 2 deceived me, an ignorant viewer, with its 3D label. I've summed up its 3D effect in a brutally honest phrase: a movie that's clear only with glasses on, blurry when you take them off." — An Feng knows my meaning.

"Painted Skin 1 succeeded through its story, tangled human emotions, and nuanced, rich character psychology. Painted Skin 2 is merely a typical, heavily commercialized film—huge investment, effective early promotion—but it inherits the classic flaw of Chinese blockbusters: sacrificing content for spectacle and Best Special Effects, turning the film's narrative into nonsense."

— Hu Zi Wushen's review.

"."

Huayi blackened Liu Tianxian's divine-level acting in Super Body 1; netizens blackened Painted Skin 2 as a stupid movie.

Tu Piao Piao only needed to amplify netizens' comments from behind the scenes—its strategy was mutual blackening; who's afraid of whom?

Both sides were competing from the start; three days of competition was enough to decide the winner—film reputation in this slot is decided in just three or four days.

If box office is bad, it's bad—hard to recover later.

Painted Skin 2 isn't some legendary masterpiece—can it reverse fate with word-of-mouth?

"Fucking hell!"

Xiao Wang, the General Manager, was furious—the total box office was only 80 million, single-day box office dropped to 15 million.

The competitor's was ten times theirs.

The further it goes, the less box office it will earn; at this rate, they won't even recoup costs.

Seeing Xiao Wang so furious, everyone else in the office kept their heads down and said nothing—best to do more, say less in such situations.

The opponent crushed them with absolute power—what can you do? This battle wasn't just lost; they lost badly. Their film's production and propaganda costs exceeded 100 million.

Not only did they lose money, but their stock price was also affected.

(End of Chapter)